Buhari's minister says over N500m was spent on school feeding programme during lockdown
- The federal government's school feeding programme has gulped over N500 million during the lockdown
- Sadiya Farouq, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, disclosed this
- The minister said that the programme was modified and implemented in three states following a presidential directive
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
In a report by Daily Trust, not less than N523.3 million was spent by the federal government on the school feeding programme during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
This was disclosed on Monday, August 3, by Sadiya Farouq, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, at the Presidential Taskforce briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja.
The minister noted that she made the revelation in reaction to rumours and speculations around the Home Grown School Feeding Programme being peddled online.
According to Farouq, the school feeding programme was modified and implemented in three states following a presidential directive through the state governor’s forum.
Source: Twitter
After the modification, a joint resolution of the ministry and the state governments to give out 'Take Home Rations' remained the most viable option for feeding children during the lockdown.
She went on to note that the provision of ‘Take Home Rations’, under the modified programme, was not the sole initiative of her ministry.
The minister explained that each take home ration was valued at N4,200 per month to feed three children per household.
She added that the figure was generated with consultation from statistics provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN).
"If 124,589 households received take-home rations valued at N4,200, the amount will be N523,273,800," she said.
The minister while noting that the federal government will provide funding, added that states will implement the programme.
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
She said government agencies and some NGOs were invited to monitor the process of the school feeding programme.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the statistician general of the federation, alongside the NBS, were called upon to provide data and shed more light on the national school feeding programme.
The probe was made by the House of Representatives' committee on public accounts on Wednesday, July 1.
Alleging that the data used for the initiative is unverifiable, the committee, headed by Wole Oke, called on the NBS to provide a headcount of pupils and other beneficiaries of the feeding scheme.
Added to this, Oke asked for the certification of the food vendors for the school feeding programme and a proof of their compliance with the public procurement act to safeguard the lives of the pupils.
In other news, an anti-corruption group, Peering Advocacy and Advancement centre in Africa (PAACA), has given a situation report on its monitoring of the implementation of the federal government's school feeding programme in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The initiative, with support from Action Aid Nigeria, was geared towards tracking the implementation of the programme and weighing the perception of the people in determining the efficiency of the exercise across the six area councils of the Nigerian capital.
COVID-19: FG kicks off school feeding programme in Abuja | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
